The Unintended Impacts of ‘Material Support’: Us Anti-terrorism Regulations and Israeli/Palestinian Peacebuilding

Lazarus, Ned; Gawerc, Michelle I.

doi:10.1080/15423166.2015.1050795

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…US aid to Palestinian NGOs has long been conditional on the so-called ‘material support clause’ regulations. Examples are the Partner Vetting System and Anti-Terror Certification, both of which aim to ensure the ‘clarity’ of the local implementing partners (Lazarus and Gawerc, 2015: 68). Accepting aid with inconvenient conditions was perceived as a sort of stigma leading to legitimacy problems within the recipient society and affecting the NGO’s ability ‘to recruit participants, to build partnerships, and to achieve the impacts envisioned by donors and practitioners alike’ (WB12).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultures of (dis)trust: Shame and solidarity from recipient NGO perspectives

Paragi

2017

International Journal of Cultural Studies

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The article is concerned with the perceptions and experiences of civil society actors receiving foreign aid from international and regional donors. By means of qualitative data analysis and within the analytical framework of gift exchange it aims to explore the 'spiritual essence' of contemporary gifts. Findings draw attention both to conflict and cooperation entailed by external gifts in light of the multiple understandings of culture. Keywordsadaptation to the environment, civil society, culture, development cooperation and communication, foreign aid, gift, humanitarian aid, NGO, Palestine, shame/stigma Foreign aid aspires to achieve global solidarity within the international community (Salamon, 2015;Wilde, 2013). 1 This modern gift (Baldwin, 1985;Eyben, 2006;Furia, 2015;Hattori, 2001;Kapoor, 2008) attempts to connect culturally, economically and politically distinct worlds; this is not without its controversies though. Modern gift-giving is one of the most influential ways of managing order and preventing violence (Duffield, 2001(Duffield, , 2007Furia 2015;Hénaff, 2010;Komter, 2005;Pyyhtinen, 2014). At the international level, it is conditional on the active participation and cooperation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media (Chouliaraki, 2013;Duffield, 2007). Contrary to the public discourse on the noble goals of development and humanitarian assistance, International Journal of Cultural Studies 00(0)contemporary forms of (compassion-based) solidarity with remote others, coupled with efficient communication strategies, may be regarded as a controversial and ironic endeavour, strengthening identities mostly on the donor side (Chouliaraki, 2013;Razack, 2007).The fact that donors and foreign aid play a role that is as influential as it is ambiguous in Palestine has not only been widely discussed in the literature (Brynen, 2000; Keating, 2005;Le More, 2008;Taghdisi-Rad, 2011) but Palestinian perceptions of donor motives, interests, behaviours and agenda-setting attitudes have also been explored by earlier studies (Paragi, 2016c, forthcoming;Said, 2005;Springer, 2015;Wildeman and Tartir, 2014). This article further explores development cooperation and communication from the 'recipient' perspective at the level of NGOs within the analytical framework offered by gift exchange theories. To capture the perspectives and experiences of the interviewees working with NGOs at the recipient end of the aid relationship, qualitative data were collected and analysed through a grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), which encouraged me to interpret foreign aid relations within the context of gift exchange both at micro and macro level (following Furia, 2015;Hattori, 2001Hattori, , 2006Kapoor, 2008;Mauss, 2000Mauss, [1925; Stirrat and Henkel, 1997).By applying qualitative methods, this article focuses on the 'spiritual essence' (Mauss, 2002(Mauss, [1925), that is, on the culture-related elements mediated by contemporary gifts (foreign grants). Foreign aid, whether it is a macro-level prog...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultures of (dis)trust: Shame and solidarity from recipient NGO perspectives

Paragi

2017

International Journal of Cultural Studies

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“…Like NGOs elsewhere in the region (Carapico 2014:188-198), Palestinian recipients reported that they either risked their goodwill or were forced to pay a heavy price within their own community if they accepted aid with unacceptable political conditions from foreign (Western) organizations (e.g., participating in "normalization" projects with Israel or signing the USAID ATC document; Lazarus and Gawerc 2015). This risk or price was described as sacrifice ("necessary" loss) experienced on the recipient side, which is needed for distinguishing true gifts from exchange.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contemporary Gifts: Solidarity, Compassion, Equality, Sacrifice, and Reciprocity from an NGO Perspective

Paragi¹

2017

Current Anthropology

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This study explores how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at the recipient end of the foreign aid relationship perceive partnership and cooperation with donors. Empirical research in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has revealed that relations established by foreign aid resemble archaic gift exchange in the extent to which both foreign aid and gift exchange evoke concepts of solidarity, equality, reciprocity, and related power dynamics. The results of the research indicate that return-gifts exist even in financially unreciprocated foreign aid relations. Recipients return the "contemporary gifts" by providing a special material (documenting and sharing stories of suffering or poverty) to the donor, which leads to the constant circulation of the gift ("aid for pain" and "pain for aid," to put it bluntly). The study draws attention to the complex social and political factors that local NGOs need to navigate to secure contemporary gifts, while it may also strengthen the validity of critical theories concerning the missing rationale behind the official aims of foreign aid.The senses of compassion, pity, and solidarity are different but powerful forces guiding social relations between individuals, organizations, societies, and states. These emotions not only explain political actions (e.g., revolutionary motives; Arendt 1990 [1963]) but also entail benevolent gifts, foreign aid included. Giving, however, is a phenomenon that is too complex to occur without ambiguities and unintended consequences. Inspired by theories on gift, reciprocity, and social exchange (Blau 2003(Blau [1964Emerson 1976;Gouldner 1960;Homans 1961; Mauss 2002Mauss [1925; Sahlins 1972), a huge body of literature has focused on the philosophy of the gift (Derrida 1994(Derrida [1992Hénaff 2010a;Osteen 2002;Pyyhtinen 2014;Schrift 1997), on its role in social and economic relations in general (Bruni and Zamagni 2013; Kolm et al. 2006), and on its role in international relations in particular (Baldwin 1985;Furia 2015;Hattori 2001;Kapoor 2008;Karagiannis 2004;Keohane 1986).Foreign aid reflects, among other values, solidarity and compassion with the less fortunate within the international community.1 It aspires to connect quite distinct worlds: the developed and the developing, the peaceful and the conflictridden, and the democratic and the nondemocratic. Civil society actors (e.g., local and international nongovernmental organizations [NGOs] and grassroots organizations) play a prominent role in this process (Anheier 2014). However, the power of solidarity lies at least as much in exclusion from as in inclusion in relations established by gifts (Komter 2005). As emphasized by McMillan and Chavis (1986:20), "as the force of sense of community drives people closer together, it also seems to be polarizing and separating subgroups of people." Foreign aid, whether financing a macro-level program or a micro-level project implemented by an NGO, is not an exception. Modern gifts or their absence influence the distribution of goods in society and hence influence j...

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“…Health is one of many areas where peacebuilding can occur. Long-term research shows that most who participate in peacebuilding activities are more hopeful about peace and more willing “to act for change.”1 The concept of cooperation in health care as peacebuilding can be traced to the 1990s 2…”

Section: Peacebuilding Between Israel and Gazamentioning

confidence: 99%

Peacebuilding Through Cooperation in Health Care and Public Health Between Israel and Palestine

Landesman,

Rubinstein,

Englander

2024

Journal of Public Health Management &Amp; Practice

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The Unintended Impacts of ‘Material Support’: Us Anti-terrorism Regulations and Israeli/Palestinian Peacebuilding

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Cultures of (dis)trust: Shame and solidarity from recipient NGO perspectives

Cultures of (dis)trust: Shame and solidarity from recipient NGO perspectives

Contemporary Gifts: Solidarity, Compassion, Equality, Sacrifice, and Reciprocity from an NGO Perspective

Peacebuilding Through Cooperation in Health Care and Public Health Between Israel and Palestine

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